After all their talk of Celtic, Hearts turn out to be the real embarrassment

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Hearts made a choice of words in their statement following Celtic’s pitch invasion in the Scottish Premiership finale.

They scathingly denounced the “shameful scenes” after they lost the title decider, saying that Celtic had “once again, embarrassed Scottish football”.

Their accusations of “serious physical abuse” towards their players and staff remain unverified, but their words on how the game ended have now firmly flown back in their face.

The statement said that a “chaotic end meant “nobody seemed to know whether or not the match had been brought to a finish”, implying that they wanted the game to continue.

SFA VAR audio from Celtic decider embarrasses Hearts

Hearts later publicly wrote to the SFA and SPFL demanding clarification after the “early” end to the match set a “troubling precedent” about pitch invasions ending matches.

Now that we have the facts, the whole debacle reflects terribly on the Tynecastle club.

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The released audio reveals David Dickinson saying: “Blow the whistle. Hearts are happy to finish Don, Hearts are happy to finish.

“Derek McInnes has told me they are happy to finish. They want their players off. Is it finished?”

Match referee Don Robertson then confirmed that the game had finished: “Yes, it’s finished. Kevin, the game is finished, OK?”

The goal was scored with seconds remaining of the eight added minutes. The SFA’s statement confirms that the rules are clear: the referee has the right to end the game after the added time is over.

Put simply, Robertson used common sense. The game had mere seconds remaining, and Hearts now needed two goals to change the outcome of the game.

Despite cries that the game was ended unfairly, Jambos boss Derek McInnes, to his credit, was in favour of ending the game once fans were on the pitch.

There is obvious precedent for this kind of action, such as Bayer Leverkusen’s last Bundesliga match in April 2024, when a mass invasion of the pitch led to the game being called before the 90th minute.

The whole episode has been reflective of a club not used to winning, scrambling to point the finger after failing to deliver a title that had been anointed early by many.

Is this Celtic side underrated because domestic success feels routine?

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Martin O’Neill responds to Celtic vs Hearts narrative

Speaking to talkSPORT, Hoops boss Martin O’Neill was very strong in his response to Hearts’ narrative about the game.

Asked about the ’embarrassment’ comment by Jim White, interim manager said: “As they might do. Well, I don’t believe that. I just don’t believe it. I think it’s nonsense.”

“I assumed that the final whistle had gone, at exactly the same moment as we put the ball in the net for the third goal.

“It’s a home game, and we have just won the league. The fans have just come onto the field. Alright, okay, so they should stay put?!”